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Home Care 101: Considerations to Ponder When Growing Old at Home

Aging at home is a popular pick for your elderly. In Australia alone, a study conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in 2013 reveals that 90% of older Australians prefer to live peacefully and enjoy the rest of their remaining time in their residence. Because of this, when their demands increase due to health and living conditions, and others, it may be necessary to consider home health care professionals to attend to their various needs. Here are some FAQ’s regarding aged care at home to help you consider your options wisely.

What are the qualifications of support workers hired for quality aged care?

Medical personnel, nurses, caregivers and support workers are accredited by the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency as their affiliated establishments require them. This does not only limit them to having the right set of skills and applied knowledge, but also relationship building skills that foster an effective client-caregiver connection.

Courteousness, politeness, and empathy are some of the key characteristics most qualified home health care aids have. The human touch when applied well also triggers the release of the hormone oxytocin — a naturally occurring compound that decreases stress levels and improves the immune system.

What factors do I consider with regards to the cost of home health care?

To approach this broad question, let’s categorize it into separate parameters.

Degree

Determining how much care needed and what solutions are on the table is involved in the planning phase of home health care. Does your elderly have any form of impairment or condition? Is palliative care or dementia care necessary? Do they need assistance in performing everyday tasks, personal or domestic? If all these questions’ answers are yes, you may anticipate more cost for specialized services.

Time

You may be busier at work than usual or on vacation and have more time to spare looking after your aged. An estimated duration is determined by you and a qualified aged care assistance team for particular services such as:

Palliative or dementia care;

transportation services;

domestic and personal assistance;

in-home respite assistance; and/or

nursing care, by instance, or round-the-clock 24/7

Frequency

This depends on your aged’s health condition and physician’s orders. How many interventions or administrations of a particular treatment warrant a safe and happy aging process for your aged? How many served meals under a specific diet for a given time frame are prescribed by the nutritionist? How frequent is rehabilitation at home preferred for a given week?

These are tough questions to answer on your own. For your aged loved ones’ welfare, you will need to coordinate with medical personnel more during a consult as what most private home health care services provide to consider your options.

Other considerations

With assessments for eligibility for home care and financial planning consults, your options will be laid for you in the conditions that will benefit you and your elderly most. Cost-efficient, realistic, specific and goal-oriented solutions can be provided by home health care providers such as Arcare. For more questions regarding services and technicalities, you can check their website at http://www.arcare.com.au.